[CPProt.net] $1 painting fetches . . . police

[Museum Security Network / Cultural Property Protection Net (Ton Cremers)]

 $1 painting fetches . . . police
By Joseph M. Dougherty
Deseret Morning News

      LAYTON - Bidding was up to almost $600 for the painting a Layton
couple had bought for $1 when police called.

Painting by Didier Lourenco, purchased for $1, is worth about $5,000.

      It turns out the couple, who did not want to talk to the news media,
will be out $1 and the time they spent auctioning the painting, which may
have been stolen and is estimated to be worth about $5,000.
      The painting by Didier Lourenco, a Spanish-born artist, is titled
"Ciclista y Cala," which translates as "Cyclist and Cove," was on its way
from a gallery in Texas to California when it turned up missing, Layton
Assistant Police Chief Craig Gibson said.
      "Ciclista y Cala" is an oil on canvas and measures 53.1 inches by 19.7
inches. It depicts, in a contemporary style, a lone person with a bicycle
near a deserted cove, where three sailboats are moored. Another boat, with
full sail, is in the background.
      Police in Seattle, where the painting's owner, Winn Devon Art Group,
is based, contacted Layton police April 20 to find the people who had the
painting.
      The Layton couple had bought the painting at Market Square Dollar
Store in Salt Lake City, Gibson said. They thought the painting was a great
deal but not worth keeping and decided to use the auction Web site eBay to
sell it.
      That's where Winn Devon employees noticed the painting for sale and
called police.
      Police are speculating the painting was never stolen and just ended up
on the wrong truck. They don't believe the Layton couple is guilty of any
crime.
      Gibson said his department is preparing to ship the painting to Winn
Devon in Seattle.
      According to the Winn Devon Web site, Lourenco had his first art
exhibition in 1988 at age 20 after having learned the art of lithography
from his father.
      He won awards at a young painters' competition in Barcelona and in
1995 moved into his own studio in Barcelona.

       He travels to Paris, Lisbon and New York looking for inspiration,
according to the art group's Web site.


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